June 2013 - Page 5 of 8 - Committee to Protect Journalists

Media executive gunned down in Brazil

June 13, 2013 5:02 PM EDT

New York, June 13, 2013–Brazilian authorities must identify the motive behind Tuesday’s murder of a media executive, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Four masked men shot José Roberto Ornelas de Lemos at least 41 times while he was at a bakery in a suburb of Rio de Janeiro, according to news reports.

Brazilian journalists detained while covering protest

June 13, 2013 4:39 PM EDT

New York, June 13, 2013–At least three Brazilian journalists were detained by military police while covering a protest on Tuesday, with one still in custody, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Brazilian authorities to allow journalists to be able to work freely without fear of harassment.

Chinese journalist held after publishing book on Tiananmen

June 13, 2013 3:32 PM EDT

New York, June 13, 2013–Chinese authorities must immediately release a journalist who has been detained since May 31 following the publication of his book on the Tiananmen massacre, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Du Bin’s detention, which was reported by his family members, came a few days before the 24th anniversary of the…

A burnt out car blocks Dee Street in east Belfast in January. Threats against journalists have increased since a wave of protests early this year. (Reuters/Cathal McNaughton)

Threats to Northern Irish journalists on the rise

June 13, 2013 2:17 PM EDT

The Police Service of Northern Ireland has informed a Belfast-based reporter that dissident republican groups, opposed to the peace process, have issued a death threat against her, the British National Union of Journalists said this week. The threat came after the journalist published a story in a local Sunday newspaper claiming an Irish republican group…

Journalist convicted on defamation charges in Cameroon

June 13, 2013 12:42 PM EDT

New York, June 13, 2013–A Cameroonian appellate court should overturn on appeal a criminal defamation conviction and sentence handed to a journalist on June 5 in the commercial city of Douala, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Remembering Iraq, a forgotten war

June 13, 2013 12:19 PM EDT

As growing sectarian violence across Iraq renews fears of civil war, journalists gathered in New York this week to talk about their experiences reporting in the country over the past decade.

In revolt, freelancers establish Frontline Freelance Register

June 12, 2013 5:03 PM EDT

Finally, there is an organization for freelancers run by freelancers, and it could not come at a more opportune time. As anyone who has been one knows, being a freelance conflict reporter, in particular, can be tricky business.

Burma Falters, Backtracks on Press Freedoms

June 12, 2013 4:03 PM EDT

New York, June 13, 2013–Burma’s media continue to face threats and obstacles to free reporting despite recent reforms, according to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released today. A new draft publishing bill and the failure to reform existing restrictive laws jeopardize still limited freedoms of expression and the press. “The changes…

Authorities are cracking down on election coverage by censoring the press. (AFP/Behrouz Mehri)

Iran restricts international coverage of election

June 12, 2013 2:44 PM EDT

Some authoritarian governments try to hide their targeting of the press, but not the Islamic Republic of Iran. Officials there brag about it. Ahead of Iran’s presidential election Friday, they have much to brag about.

A Hargeisa resident reads the Hubaal paper before the daily's suspension. (Barkhad Dahir)

Independent daily suspended indefinitely in Somaliland

June 12, 2013 1:53 PM EDT

Nairobi, June 12, 2013–The acting attorney general in the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland should withdraw his request to suspend the independent daily Hubaal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A court ruled on Tuesday that the paper had been indefinitely suspended at the request of Aden Ahmed Mouse, according to news reports.